


welcome to burlesque

by kiridais



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Burlesque AU, F/M, M/M, also i'm using year 2 ages if you haven't noticed, also shit writing, i just want to write azuma & tsumugi in corsets, implied banju, implied izusakyo, kinda OOC, might get r18 in sum moments, writing practice??? idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23649877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiridais/pseuds/kiridais
Summary: "a-am i going to wear....that?""yes.""while dancing?""yes.""while--""if you ask me more questions, you're gonna go on stage naked."
Relationships: Takatoo Tasuku/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	1. show a little more, show a little less

It’s been a week since Tsumugi moved to Veludo Way.

He’s been busy, visiting the town’s attractions and shops, settling in his new apartment and roaming around the area. Hisoka visited him during his 3rd day in town, he said that Tsumugi’s apartment was too small. 

He’s gotten pretty used to the place already. He knows where to shop for cheaper food, places to avoid and et cetera. His neighbour Sakuya has been helping him around too, and Tsumugi was grateful.

Veludo wasn’t as nice and interesting as his old town—he found the town rather boring. Sure it was a nice place, but it wasn’t really special to him.

That’s what he thought when he was walking in the park late at night.

It was a quiet night. He could only hear the conversations of a few people walking by and his footsteps—it was deafening.

“It’s too quiet,” he mumbled, sitting on a nearby bench.

“Too quiet?”

Tsumugi screamed in shock, turning his head. A man with dishevelled hair was also screaming at him, sending the flyers in his hands flying away.

“JESUS CHRIST DON’T FREAK OUT, DON’T FREAK OUT,” the man shouted in panic, “PEOPLE WOULD THINK I’M A CRIMINAL!”

”YOU LITERALLY APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE! WHO KNOWS YOU MIGHT BE A MURDERER OF SOME KIND!?”

“I SWEAR I’M NOT! I JUST GOT BACK FROM MY JOB.”

The man picked up the flyers, with Tsumugi helping him out reluctantly.

”I’m really sorry.” The man said sheepishly, "I didn't mean to surprise you."

“It’s fine.” Tsumugi replied, “The evening was too quiet anyways, I could use a little jumpscare.”

Tsumugi huffed, picking more flyers up.

“Why were you creeping behind me like that? It’s....weird.”

“Um, you see,” The man trailed, scratching his nape, “My boss asked me to distribute flyers earlier but I got drunk so.....”

“Uh-huh,” Tsumugi nodded along. Finally picking the last piece of the flyers, he stared at it, fascinated with the design.

“My workplace really needs more customers and I am way too scared to come back in that place with these stack of flyers! Who knows what Sakyo would do to me?”

Tsumugi eyed him before looking back at the flyer.

** The Mankai Burlesque Club **

** est. 1991 **

“Burlesque...?”

“If you want something to liven up your night, then you should come to this place!”

“So you popped out in the middle of nowhere to endorse this burlesque club?”

“Actually I passed out behind the bench—but that isn’t important!“

Matsukawa pointed at the flyer.

“These clubs are the gems of Veludo Way every night, you know? It looks like you’re new to the place so you should go try and visit ours!”

Tsumugi sighed. The man was so terrible at his job. Like really bad.

“If you want a cheaper entrance fee you should tell the guy at the ticket booth my name—Matsukawa Isuke!”

“I doubt that he’d give me a cheaper price,” Tsumugi chuckled awkwardly, pocketing the flyer, “But I’ll give it a try.”

—

That’s how Tsumugi ended up in front of the burlesque club.

Tsumugi looked at the building in front of him.  He wasn’t even sure if the place was even functioning.

The sign looked old; some of the lights weren’t even working anymore and the others were just blinking. The red paint of the building was chipped and was covered with random graffiti.

Although the building looked like that, there were a few cars parked outside. There were also a few people coming in, chatting away.

Hesitantly, Tsumugi entered the club.

There were a bunch of framed posters in the hallway. Some looked vintage, especially the one near the entrance. As he walked to the ticket booth, Tsumugi glanced at the posters before seeing the one just right beside the booth—it was probably the most recent one. The design was almost like the one on the flyer that Matsukawa was supposed to distribute.

"I NEED TO PEE SO BAD." A redhead boy ran out of the booth. "COVER FOR ME!"

Tsumugi approached the booth slowly.

“Hello...?”

He tapped the ticket booth’s window. He saw a boy inside, scribbling furiously in a notebook before ripping the pages out and writing again.

No response.

He tapped the window again. And again. And again. Finally, the boy looked up and gave him a tired smile.

“Sorry, I didn't notice that Taichi left.” He tucked his notebook away, "Welcome to the Mankai Burlesque Club."

“It’s okay, I wasn’t here long.”

“That’ll be 20 dollars for a ticket.”

“20...?” Tsumugi took his wallet from his pocket, “Uh, a guy named Matsukawa said I’d have a cheaper price if I mention his name...?”

“Oh, Matsukawa.” The boy facepalmed, “That’ll be 5. Sakyo told me that if Matsukawa brings a customer it’ll be 75% off. He’s really...bad at his job.”

“So what’s the deal with this club?” Tsumugi asked as he handed the boy a 10. He saw a glimpse of the boy’s name tag,— ‘Tsuzuru Minagi’.

“There are performances every night for this month, y’know just like any other burlesque clubs.” Tsuzuru explained before seeing Tsumugi’s confused expression, “They dance, do acts. Dance mostly. With lingerie. Or revealing clothes. Sometimes naked, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

“I-is this a strip club?” Tsumugi grew hot. He never entered a strip club in his whole life and he wants the earth to swallow him if the club was one.

Tsuzuru shook his head, “Oh no, it’s not. They’re different. I can’t really explain it right now, my brain is FRIED.”

He handed Tsumugi the change.

“You should check them out if you’re really curious. The performers are....something.”

This piqued Tsumugi’s interest.

“Huh...”

Thanking Tsuzuru, he stepped into the main part of the club—maybe Veludo got a little bit interesting.


	2. the eight merry murderers of the mankai burlesque club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsumugi realized that this was more than what he bargained for. The club runs into some problems backtage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just realized the first chapter was around 600 words i have never been more disappointed in myself

The lights were dim when Tsumugi entered the club.

This worried him for a minute, thinking he was going to get robbed and murdered—after all, Matsukawa gave him a flyer of this place out of nowhere. But he shrugged the thought aside afterwards, people were chattering excitedly around the room. A voice thundered from the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen...”

The lights finally turned on, focusing on a redheaded man with a weird haircut. His arms were extended while he stood confidently, wearing nothing but a corset and some lingerie that looks like it was from the 1800s.

“Homare’s starting the show huh,” Tsumugi heard the guy behind the bar say as he washed the glasses.

"WELCOME TO BURLESQUE!"

The crowd cheered, making the newcomer overwhelmed. He has never been in a place as loud as this one alone. He looked around—the place reeks of alcohol and cheap perfume, just like it did back in the hallway. It wasn't his go-to place, his head was somehow spinning because of the noise.

Blinking his eyes, he looked at the stage.

The red curtains were raised as a cast of men in lingerie were revealed. The men were all on the stair props, doing over the top poses with suggestive expressions. They were wearing playboy bunny costumes and it made Tsumugi question what was he doing in the club.

It makes him want to choke Matsukawa and thank him at the same time.

Never peeling his eyes off the stage, he approached the bar. He sat on one of the stools, taking out his wallet, "Can I have a beer?"

The bartender nodded before handing him a can of the said beverage. Tsumugi thanked the guy.

"You new around here?" The bartender asked as Tsumugi looked at him.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

The bartender gave him a small smile, "Jus’ guessing."

"Huh," This made Tsumugi laugh.

"So, uh, welcome to burlesque." The guy shrugged, "I'm Juza. The only functioning bartender here."

"Tsumugi," he said in response, taking a sip of the cold beer. “What happened to the other bartenders?”

Juza gestured at his fellow bartender making out with a waitress. Tsumugi nodded, pursing his lips before drawing his attention back to the men on the stage.

"What's the deal with this club?"

"Burlesque," Juza said, giving him a confused look. "Don't y'know about these things? I mean, you’re probably checkin’ out this club after visitin’ the others." 

Tsumugi shook his head, finishing his beer.

"Matsukawa and the ticket boy explained it to me, I don’t know the whole concept of it."

Juza nodded along, "'S like, I dunno, a variety show of some kind. It can get suggestive and erotic 'cause it can include some striptease, but it's not necessary."

"Kinda like a strip club?"

"Customer at table 8 says he wants a grasshopper!" A redhead waiter said to Juza while returning empty glasses. Tsumugi swore that was Sakuya.

"Close." Juza said as he prepared for another drink, "Stripping is more on the sexual scale."

He finished preparing the drink, "A whiskey with no ice for table 8 and a margarita for the investor."

A dancer on a stage did a needle as the others continued to dance to the song. Tsumugi felt his bones crack, he wasn't a flexible type of guy. Just looking at flexible people make him feel like his bones were rusty.

The guy who did the needle did a flip afterwards before doing a split. He'd never thought he'd see guys who were confident enough to do this kind of thing. "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Misumi. He's kinda a big deal 'round here, doing acrobatics and stuff like that."

"Misumi..." Tsumugi repeated the dancer's name, "Who's the others?"

Juza gave him a nod as he started to point at the dancers, "Guy on the far left who keeps winking? His name's Kazunari, he's also in charge of the flyers and posters."

"The one who did the opening scene is Homare. He's a loud guy, usually doing these satirical poems during the shows. Can't believe he has one for every night."

"Chikage's the green-haired guy and the guy next to him is Omi. They're rookies here, debuted around 6 months ago."

Tsumugi stared at Omi's body, gripping his second car of beer tightly, "D-doesn't he feel too tight in that kind of clothes?"

"Think so. The costume designer's always screaming about how Omi was ruining his costumes."

"Who's the guy on the couch? I just realized he's just lounging there." Tsumugi pointed at the silver-haired man who was wearing a mink that was like Cruella De Vil's.

"That's Azuma. He's the second famous guy here." Juza replied. “People keep sayin’ he has a sexual aura around him.”

Tsumugi looked at Azuma. He was charming the audience with his eyes, giving them occasional smiles as he sang the song.

"I can see that," he chuckled.

"Looks like they aren't complete." Juza said as he prepared another drink, "Fox-eyed bastard isn't on the stage."

Tsumugi assumed that this 'fox-eyed bastard' gets on Juza's nerves by hearing the way how the bartender said that.

“Fox-eyed bastard?”

“He’s one of the dancers.” Juza grumbled. "He's a real bitch, but he's a great dancer so Sakyo can't fire his stupid ass."

Not wanting to bother Juza with more questions, he took out the crumpled flyer that Matsukawa gave him earlier. He smoothed out the piece of paper on the bar.

** STARRING: **

** Misumi, Azuma, Itaru, Chikage, **

** Banri, Kazunari, Citron and Mankai's King, **

** Tasuku! **

Juza glanced at the flyer, "Looks like Matsukawa gave you a flyer."

"He gave it late, I just found out about this half an hour ago." He answered, looking at the flyer's contents.

"So that explains why he isn't here ordering his favourite martini." The bartender chuckled, "That guy always gets scolded by Sakyo, looks like he's tryna escape him today."

Tsumugi laughed along, his eyes still scanning the flyer. There were three people Juza didn't mention. Or maybe two since the bartender said something about a 'fox-eyed bastard'. 

The opening number finally ended as Azuma finally stood up from the couch, removing the mink coat off his shoulders.

"Please enjoy the night," His voice rang across the room, probably giving some people a boner or two. He giggled for a while as the audience a round of applause.

The lights dimmed once again, soft piano music started to play in the background.

"Well, that was....something." Tsumugi said, clapping along, "They were fantastic."

Juza looked at him, "Just wait 'til you see the king's performance."

\--

"Where the fuck is Citron?" Sakyo hissed, looking for the foreign dancer in the backstage. It was closing night tomorrow and he couldn't afford to end the season without the complete cast.

"Izu, found anything?"

"He left a note on his mirror!" Izumi shouted from the rows of vanity tables before Sakyo walked towards her.

They looked at Citron's messy handwriting, trying to decipher what the dancer wrote. Seconds passed and they never understood what the post-it meant.

Sakyo frowned, "What does this mean?"

"Beats me." Sighing, Izumi stuck it back to Citron's mirror. "Matsukawa can read this, but it's been hours since he was last here. I wonder if he passed out or something."

Tasuku emerged from the dressing room, looking at the pair as he adjusted his costume, "What happened?"

"Citron's not here," Izumi replied, "He left a note but we can't read this. Do you need help with makeup?"

“No thanks.”

Tasuku approached Citron's table before he attempted to read the note, his brows furrowing as he did.

"Can't read it too."

Sakyo sighed, closing his eyes, "I'm assuming he went to jail."

"Sakyo!"

The blond was about to answer before he was interrupted. The doors of the backstage opened as a man with light brown hair entered, his hands holding Matsukuwa by his shirt's collar.

"He didn't distribute the flyers," He started.

Matsukawa crossed his arms, "I distributed one! One!"

"And you're late." Sakyo ignored Matsukawa, folding his arms, "It's the night before closing and you're slacking off?"

"I have a good reason this time, I swear." The boy huffed.

"What happened, Banri?" Izumi asked, preparing the dancer's makeup on his vanity table.

"Had problems with Citron. He told me to drop him off the airport and I told him that I don't have a car." Banri answered, now rummaging the open-closet to find his costume, "So he insisted we go by train since he didn't even know where the fuck the airport is."

Silence filled the room before Sakyo pinched his nose. The others sighed at what Banri just said.

"So you're telling me that Citron left to go somewhere?" He grumbled, "Matsukawa read the note."

The mop-headed man hurriedly ran to Citron's table, snatching the note from the mirror. 

"g0inG bck h0me 4 awhile ^____^ dun miss me 2 mUch i will com back <3"

Matsukawa, Sakyo and Izumi stared at each other while Banri was changing into his latex police costume and Tasuku was applying makeup.

"So..." Izumi started, breaking off the awkward silence, "No Citron pole dance for the closing night?"

"I-isn't Citron, like, one of the investor's favourites..?" Matsukawa stuttered out, afraid of how Sakyo would react. After all, he didn't even do his job today.

Sakyo muttered under his breath, "Shit."

"That means Sakyo's going to perform again..?" Matsukawa joked, "Should I make new flyers to announce this?"

"You didn't even distribute all the last flyers for this season!" 

"Eek!"

Someone shouted from above, "Tasuku, you're on in 3 minutes!"

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up Sakoda!" Tasuku replied, contouring his muscles to define them.

"Look," Sakyo started once again, ignoring the flyer issue, "The next season was supposed to be centred around Citron."

"I know but we don't know the real reason why he had to come back to his country." Izumi replied, “Maybe he’s dealing with, I don’t know, family emergency?”

"We aren't even sure if he's going to come back. A scribbled note on a post-it isn’t enough, Izumi."

They heard a round of applause from outside as the dancers filed in the backstage, rushing to the walk-in closet.

"I think I just ripped my costume!" Kazunari shouted, hurrying to find his next costume to change.

"Good thing it isn't me this time," Omi huffed out, laughing awkwardly.

Banri came out of the dressing room, "Yo." He greeted as the others looked at him.

"Where's Citron?" Chikage asked him, picking out the gold-coloured costume from the racks. "We were a person short."

"He went back to his country but he said he'll come back soon," Izumi answered. 

"Eh," Itaru said, reapplying the glittery eyeshadow on his left eyelid. "He's always doing impulsive decisions."

"As if you don't decide things in an instant too," Banri said from his table.

“I don’t.”

“Oh really? What about the time—“

“Shut the fuck up.” Chikage pinched his coworkers’ ears.

"Fuck!"

"You can't hurt me-ow!"

Sakyo looked around, sighing, "Just. Do well today, all right? One of the investors is here and he told me he's bringing the other for the closing night."

"Isn't closing night tomorrow?" Azuma asked, applying red lipstick before spraying some expensive perfume all over his body.

"Exactly. So please,  please, do a greater job than Matsukawa."

"Hey!" Matsukawa interjected, but Sakyo had already retreated back to his office.

The people backstage got busy after that, preparing their makeup and costumes for the next performances. Sakoda signalled to Izumi from above, pointing to Tasuku.

"Tasuku you're on!" Izumi ushered the man who was now readying himself for the next performance. 

He walked towards the shiny curtain that was ready to part open in a few seconds.

"We've got to do some changes for the show today because Citron's not present and Banri's late and then....." Izumi rambled on, walking around the backstage to help the performers get ready as Matsukawa ran to the wings to tell the news to the lights and sound guys.

Kazunari tiptoed to look at Tasuku from above the dressing room's door. "Go, king! Snatch our wigs!"

"The fuck is he saying," Tasuku mumbled under his breath. 

“Do you want a lucky triangle before performing?”

“Maybe after.”

“How about a poem—“

“NO.”

The club was a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i just finished writing this at 3 am good thing my mom didn't walk in my room as i typed this ++ also i didn't recheck this since i haven't slept for more than 24 hours so I'll just edit my mistakes when i wake up

**Author's Note:**

> i am so sorry for the shit writing (the last time i published a fic written in paragraph form was back in 2017) BUT ANYWAYS i have tweeted about a3 burlesque au for days until a3 jp decides to release these burlesque cards so i might as well write my burlesque au lmAOOO anyways i’m @kiridais on twt i only talk about a3 nd other shit


End file.
